JPH03504538A - Electronic battery testing device with automatic voltage scaling - Google Patents

Abstract

A self-contained electronic device for testing disparate storage batteries having any one of a fixed plurality of possible nominal voltages is disclosed. The testing device performs small-signal measurements of a battery's dynamic conductance and provides either a proportional numerical readout, displayed in appropriate battery measuring units, or a corresponding qualitative assessment of the battery's relative condition. Special voltage-sensing circuitry within the testing device identifies the particular one of the possible nominal voltages possessed by the battery and scales the dynamic conductance measurements accordingly. As a result, the quantitative or qualitative information provided to the user is automatically adjusted to comport with the nominal voltage of the battery undergoing test without the user having to actually input the battery's nominal voltage to the testing device.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Electronic battery testing device technical field with automatic voltage scaling This invention provides a method for evaluating the ability of a storage battery or other DC power source to transfer power to a load. relating to electronic measuring devices. More specifically, this invention was made in March 19118. U.S. Patent No. 111i9.8 filed by Case S., Champlin on the 18th. No. 58, March 2, 1975; Granted to Case S. and Champlin on September 5th and September 30th, 1975, respectively. No. 3,873,911 and US Pat. No. 3,909,7011.

Background technology Batteries are used in many applications that require electrical energy to be stored for later use. It is used for Most commonly, batteries are used in vehicles that utilize internal combustion engines. It is used. In such applications, energy is stored in the battery during engine operation. It is accumulated by "charging" the battery, and is later released when the engine is stopped. used to power lights, radios, and other battery devices. car bag The most severe demands on power are generally made by the starting motor. starting Provides the electric motor with enough power to start the engine satisfactorily, especially in cold climates. In general, the first problem is battery deterioration or charging system failure. This indicates whether there is a problem with the program. Obviously, the ability of the battery to supply power to heavy loads Nothing is more valuable than a simple measurement that accurately assesses it.

Prior to the issuance of U.S. Patent Nos. 3.873.911 and 3.909.708, The only commonly available method for evaluating a battery's ability to power a load The standard load test is a standard load test. It imposes a high DC load current having a predetermined value determined by the rating of

After a given time interval, the terminal voltage of the loaded battery is observed. It will be done. The battery then determines whether its terminal voltage is greater or less than a certain value. This load test is considered to have passed or failed.

This standard load test has been widely used for many years to field test storage batteries. However, this test has some serious drawbacks. These drawbacks are as follows Contains.

1. Standard load tests cause very large currents and are therefore heavy and cumbersome. Requires equipment.

2. Because of these large currents, the test equipment may be connected or disconnected under load. In this case, significant "sparking" occurs at the battery terminals. in the presence of battery gas If such "spark generation" occurs, there is a high risk of serious injury to the operator. A loud explosion may occur.

3. The standard load test leaves the battery in a state where the charge is considerably reduced, so the test is conducted The ability to start the engine will be lower than before.

4. The terminal voltage of the battery decreases over time during the performance of the load test. Therefore , load test results are generally inaccurate and highly dependent on operator skill. do.

5. Load test results cannot be repeated because the test itself temporarily polarizes the battery. It's not possible. Such test-induced polarization is dependent on any other subsequent negative polarization. The initial state of the load test can also be changed at will.

A practical alternative to this standard load test is U.S. Pat. No. 3.909.708, and U.S. Patent Application No. 189,858. Ru. These documents are determined by small-signal AC measurements of its dynamic conductance. An electronic device for accurately evaluating the condition of a battery is disclosed. these books The dynamic conductance of the battery is equal to its load test current, i.e. its dynamic conductance. Power - teaches that it is proportional to the maximum power that the battery can transfer to the load. There is. Dynamic conductance is therefore a direct measure of the battery's electrical state. It is a measure.

Two electronic battery tester embodiments are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3.873.911. and each of these two embodiments is based on the dynamic conductance of the battery. Accurately determine the quantity and operate a numerical measurement of the battery measurement unit that is directly proportional to this quantity. provide to the rater. The first example is an operator-assisted It includes a bridge circuit that is balanced by A second preferred embodiment is a digital or provides the operator with a direct reading that can be displayed numerically on an analog meter . No. 3,873.9 of the present invention, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,873.9. The working principle of the second embodiment is based on the theory of high gain feedback amplifiers.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,708 also describes two electronic battery tester embodiments. is disclosed. However, from the operator's perspective, their operation is than any of the numerical reading embodiments disclosed in National Patent No. 3,873,911. It approximates the operation of traditional load test equipment. Rather than obtaining numerical measurements, However, the operator must select the battery under test using the selector knob on the equipment panel. Set at start to electrical rating. This disclosed device then uses a dynamic controller. Using small-signal measurements of conductance to ensure that the battery has the appropriate amount of power for the selected rating It is simply a matter of checking whether the information can be transmitted. Accordingly, U.S. Pat. These two embodiments disclosed in No. 9.708 are just traditional load tests. Providing qualitative “pass-fail” battery status information as the device does Ru. However, are these significant from the battery? Without pulling l5fi results and thus do not suffer from the serious drawbacks of load testing. Before this As with the second embodiment disclosed in the patent, U.S. Pat. ．． The principle of operation of the second preferred embodiment disclosed in '708 is that It is based on the theory of double back amplifier.

Improved Electronic Battery Testing Disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 1B9.858 The device is compatible with these two previously disclosed feedback electronic battery tests. Both functions of the device are embodied in a single embodiment. all fixed resistors and by configuring the output display to the appropriate battery measurement unit. , this disclosed device is comparable to a direct read battery tester. In addition, one resistor, calibrate it to the appropriate battery rating units, and configure the output display. ``Pass-Fail'' type dynamic conductor Kukunsu battery testing machine is imitated. Either fixed resistance or variable resistance Direct-read battery test device or “pass-fail” type, depending on selection A two-point switch is used to select either imitation of the battery testing device. It will be done.

Compared to this load test method of battery evaluation, the dynamic conductance test The experimental method has many advantages. For example, the dynamic conductance test , is small and lightweight, draws almost no current, and has virtually no power when connected or disconnected. does not produce sparks, does not significantly discharge or polarize the battery, and is very accurate. Utilize electronic devices that produce test results that are highly reproducible. over a period of 30 years Virtually millions of battery measurements conducted in the United States have sufficiently confirmed these teachings. This proves the effectiveness of this alternative test method.

Summary of the invention Battery dynamic conductance can be measured in several traditional battery measurement units. Its electrical conditions expressed in terms of load test current, ampere-hours, or watts It is known that it is proportional to However, the dynamic conductance The proportionality constant that relates the and therefore on the nominal terminal voltage of the battery. As a result, certain The dynamic conductance of a battery can be measured in any traditional unit of battery measurement. This nominal voltage of the battery must be taken into account for proper interpretation. .

Traditionally, the nominal battery voltage has been used to interpret dynamic conductance test results. The need to take into account has been considered in one of two ways. test device are limited to testing only batteries with a common nominal voltage, or The user enters the battery's nominal voltage into the test device that has a selector switch. have been asked to do so. None of these methods are completely satisfactory.

The first method uses two complete batteries to test both 6 volt and 12 volt batteries. requires different battery testing devices. The second method is when the user is careless For example, if you select a different nominal battery voltage than the Ignored voltage selection changes when changing from battery test to 6 volt battery test This will cause serious errors.

The invention described below solves the problem of introducing the nominal battery voltage in different ways. Solve. quite different with any one of several possible fixed nominal terminal voltages. A self-contained electronic device for testing batteries is disclosed. This test The device performs small-signal measurements of the battery's dynamic conductance and battery 1ilF + proportional numerical readout displayed in constant units or battery Make a corresponding qualitative assessment of the relative status of.

A special voltage sensing circuit within this test device is owned by the battery. Filter out a specific one of the possible nominal voltages and adjust the dynamic conductor accordingly. Scaling the AP1 constant value. As a result, quantitative or is qualitative information, but the user actually enters the battery's nominal voltage into the test device. Automatic calibration to match the nominal voltage of the battery being tested under conditions that do not require Adjusted by hand.

Electronic battery testing device with its automatic voltage scaling (sealing) to obtain qualitative or quantitative evaluation of a wide range of complex DC energy sources. It can be used for. In addition to lead-acid batteries, this invention also uses nickel-cadmium batteries. Mium batteries, lithium batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, thermal cells, and magnetohydrodynamic electricity It can be used to test many other series connected energy sources such as ponds. Main departure is characterized by its simplicity, its safety, its accuracy, its ease of operation, and its low cost. The test is widely applicable to such test applications.

Brief description of the drawing Figures 1a and 1b illustrate the voltage-current conditions encountered during a conventional load test. FIG. Figure 1a shows a load test performed on a single cell. . Figure 1b is implemented on a battery consisting of n single cells directly connected. Load test is shown.

FIG. 2 shows an improved electronic battery test with automatic voltage scaling according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of an experimental device.

Figure 3 shows nominal voltages of 6 volts, 12 volts, 1 g volts or 24 volts. The block diagram of FIG. 2 for a device configured to test a battery with One option for the voltage sensing selector and selectable attenuator block shown in the diagram is 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a 6 volt or 12 volt system with automatic voltage scaling according to the present invention. Improved electronic battery configured to test either volt battery Complete diagram of the test device Tradition used to measure and evaluate batteries One such quantity is the "load-test current" expressed in amperes. First, Figure 1a A simplified schematic diagram showing a single cell undergoing a load test is illustrated. ing. This cell has an internal voltage V of the cell connected in series with its internal resistance R. that O containing o It is represented by a Thevenin equivalent circuit. This load-test current is shown in Figure 1a. The terminal voltage of the cell at the end of the load test is VT It is expressed as

Applying Ohm's law to the circuit of FIG. 1a yields the following equation.

Here, G -1/Rxo is the dynamic conductance of the cell and O be.

Equation (1) relates the dynamic conductance of a cell to its load-test current. This shows that the constant of proportionality is (Vo-V,). The exact value of this proportionality constant is The value depends on the precise definition of VT and thus the particular load test under consideration. Unlimited Load test definitions over a range are possible. However, two specific definitions are common It is true. One is the ``standard load test'' that is often used when on-site testing storage batteries. "Experience". For this "Standard Load Test", the v-d is 15 seconds after discharge at room temperature. ．． Equal to 6 volts.

Other common load tests are those defined in SAE Standard J537 and used in starting applications. In the "cold cranking test" used for factory rating of batteries be. In the case of this "cold cranking test", VT is 30 seconds at zero degrees Fahrenheit. Equal to 1.2 volts after discharge.

Referring now to Figure 1b, there are n series connected A simplified schematic diagram showing a battery consisting of a single cell is shown. The bag in Figure 1b In the battery, both the internal voltage V of a single cell and the terminal voltage VT are multiplied by the number of cells n. calculated. The battery load-test current is therefore expressed as:

Here, G-1/Rx is the dynamic conductance of the battery.

A single cell @V and 7 cells were loaded into the load tested battery shown in Figure 1b. Assume that the cell case is the same as that of the single cell being load tested in Figure 1a. Then, the ratio that relates the dynamic conductance to the battery load-test current is For example, the constant is simply the proportionality constant for a single cell multiplied by the number of cells n. Can be seen. Therefore, the dynamic conductance measurements are given for a single cell suitable for G. By multiplying by a constant and then scaling this result proportional to the number of cells It can be related to the load-test current in amperes.

The second traditional quantity used to measure and rate batteries is the "Ampere-hour" defined in slow discharge test for specific time to voltage It is. Although this quantity is not directly related to Gx in the same way as the load-test current, Extensive measurements cover a wide range of battery types configured in a similar manner. This shows that this correlation is still a direct correlation. . In addition, Gx can be related to ampere-hours in the same way as for load-test current. The proportionality constant is directly proportional to the number of cells n. Therefore, Gx is multiplied by an appropriate single cell constant. and then scale this result proportionally to the number of cells. Conductance measurements can similarly be related to ampere-hours.

The third traditional quantity used to measure and rate batteries is expressed in watts. is the "capable power" or dynamic power J. This amount is within the load resistance. By a specific load test adjusted to be exactly equal to the battery resistance Rx defined. Under these very specific "matched load" conditions, the battery Exactly half of the internal voltage of is dropped across Rx and half is dropped across the load.

Referring again to Figure 1b, the load current under "matched load" conditions is It is expressed as follows.

The power sent to the “matched load” is “capable power” or “dynamic power” It is. Its value in watts is given by the formula:

From equation (4), the relationship between dynamic conductance and available power in watts is It can be seen that the correlation is also a linear correlation. However, these two quantities The associated proportionality constant is the same for both load-test current and ampere-hours. , proportional to the square of the number of cells containing the battery, and not proportional to the number of cells themselves. follow , multiply Gx by an appropriate single cell constant, and then multiply this result proportional to the square of the number of cells. Dynamic conductance measurements in Watts by scaling can be related to the available power represented.

From the above discussion, it can be seen that the dynamic coefficient measured by the electronic battery test device Load inductance in amperes - test current, ampere-hours, or watts of a cell when related to traditional battery measurement units such as available power expressed in It is clear that the numbers must be properly considered. of cells connected in series The number is directly proportional to the battery's nominal terminal voltage. Therefore, the GxDI constant value is or the square of that number. or scaling in proportion to the square of its nominal voltage.

Until now, when relating Gx measurements to traditional battery measurements or units of evaluation, The problem of considering the nominal battery voltage is that there is only one proportionality constant for the test device. This device can be permanently incorporated into a battery having a suitable nominal voltage. The nominal voltage of the battery can be determined by limiting the test to battery only or by sketching the battery's nominal voltage. By requiring the user to select the appropriate proportionality constant by entering More consideration is being given to this issue. In contrast, the present invention uses the nominal The voltage is automatically taken into account without any action by the operator.

Now referring to Figure 2, improved electronic voltage scaling with automatic voltage scaling A simplified block diagram of a battery testing device is shown. high gain amplifier cascade The signal representing the signal at output 10 of node 12 is routed through two feedback paths, viz. High gain increase due to internal feedback path 14 and external feedback path 16 It is fed back to the input 20 of the width filter cascade 12. Internal feedback diameter Path 14 includes a low pass filter (LPF) 1g and passes the signal to the high gain amplifier filter. direct feedback to the input 20 of the card 12. Internal feedback path 14 and the purpose of the low pass filter 18 is to fix the operating point of the high gain amplifier cascade 12. , to ensure its DC stability without possibly reducing its AC voltage gain Provide large DC feedback and almost no AC feedback It is in. External feedback path 16 includes a resistive network 22; The signal is fed back to the battery 24 under test. The adder circuit 2B selectable attenuation by the signal voltage 28 developed across the battery 24 and the oscillator 32. A 100 Hz periodic square wave signal voltage 30 applied through a device network 34. Synthesize with The resulting composite signal 36 is connected to a capacitive coupling network. 38 capacitively coupled to the power supply 20 of the high gain amplifier cascade 12 .

High gain amplifiers, as fully described in U.S. Patent Application No. 189,858 The voltage at the output lO of cascade 12 depends on the dynamics of battery 24 under test. It contains a constant DC bias component as well as an AC signal component proportional to the conductance. Ru. This constant DC bias component is ignored, but the AC signal component is detected by the detector 40. is detected and accurately converted to a DC signal.

The DC signal at output 42 of detector 40 is passed through adjustable resistor network 44. and is applied to the input of the DC-coupled operational amplifier 46. The operational amplifier 46 Feedback path 48 includes a DC milliammeter 50. Therefore, direct current The milliammeter 50 reading corresponds to the DC signal level at the output 42 of the detector 40. and is therefore proportional to the dynamic conductance of the battery 24, whereas this The proportionality constant of is controlled by the value of the resistor network 44.

Utilize the appropriate fixed resistance value of the resistor network 44 and then adjust the battery dynamics. The milliammeter 50 is configured by a battery evaluation unit proportional to the conductance. By making the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 2, the embodiment disclosed in FIG. The direct reading battery tester disclosed in the '911 patent is imitated. In addition, US special As fully taught in patent application Ser. No. 169,851i, The resistance value of the resistor network 44 that brings the reading of the resistor 50 to a particular fixed value is is directly proportional to the dynamic conductance of the battery 24. Therefore, the resistance network 44 to traditional battery rating units, then milliammeter 5 By specifying "pass" and "fail" areas on the 0 side, the results disclosed in Figure 2 are Examples are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,708. - Simulates a "fail" battery test device.

Thus, the switch can be used to connect the fixed value resistor network 44 or the battery rating. Select a network 44 with adjustable values that are calibrated directly to the value unit. and then mark both the linear memory and "pass-fail" areas on the milliammeter 50 face. By giving direct reading battery tester and having only one device “Pass” - Can realize both "fail" battery tester.

The level of the DC signal at output 42 of detector 40 is controlled by a selectable attenuator network. is directly proportional to the level of square wave signal 30 at the output of block 34. Therefore, direct reading works The level of numerical quantities displayed dynamically as well as the constants given for “Pass-Fail” operation. Both sexual ratings are determined by the value of selectable attenuator 34. According to the invention , the selectable attenuator 34 is a voltage detection selector that detects the terminal voltage of the battery 24. It is under the control of 52. This terminal voltage can be compared to one or more fixed reference voltages. The voltage sensing selector 52 selects a fixed plurality of possible nominal voltages. A particular nominal voltage of battery 24 is identified among the voltages. Based on this false distinction, Pressure sensing selector 52 automatically selects the appropriate attenuation value in selectable attenuator 34. Choose. This effectively scales the level of the signal at output 42 of detector 40. The output information provided to the user identifies the identified public of the battery under test. corresponds to the nominal voltage.

For proportional scaling, the output information expressed in amperes or ampere-hours As desired, the selected attenuation, defined as the ratio of human power to output signal, is , inversely proportional to the identified nominal voltage. For square scaling, expressed in watts The selected attenuation value is within the range of the identified nominal voltage, as desired for the output information provided. It is inversely proportional to the square. It is understood by those skilled in the art that any other scaling method may be implemented as well. It will be obvious to anyone.

The embodiment disclosed in FIG. 2 utilizes a DC milliammeter to obtain test results. indicate. However, this particular display implementation is one of many possible display implementations. We should praise the fact that it only represents For example, direct reading battery test The necessary numeric display of the test equipment should be a digital meter, printed numeric value, or a computer. This can be realized by displaying on a computer terminal v device. In the same way, "Pass - The required qualitative indication of the battery tester is provided by multiple colored lights or can be implemented by an audible signal. These and other choices will be obvious to those skilled in the art. and is intended to be within the scope of the present invention.

Next, to explain Figure 3, it is possible to select the entire block diagram in Figure 2. Two blocks are identified as attenuator network 34 and voltage sensing selector 52. One possible implementation of the book is disclosed. This particular embodiment disclosed includes: completely different cells, each containing 3 cells, 6 cells, 9 cells or 12 cells. Perform automatic scaling of measurements for a lead-acid battery. Single lead-acid cell has a nominal voltage of about 2 volts, so each respective battery has a nominal voltage of 6 volts, +2 volts has a nominal terminal voltage of 18 volts or 24 volts. Regarding Figure 3 The total number of different nominal voltages considered, as well as their respective values, Intended for illustrative purposes only. Other numbers of different battery voltages and other batteries voltage values may also be used without departing from the scope of the disclosed invention. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that this can be done.

The positive terminal of the battery 24 under test is connected to three voltage comparisons through voltage sensing conductor 66. Vessel 80.82. and 64 non-inverting inputs. Negative end of battery 24 The children are connected to a common ground 68. 9 volt, 15 volt and 21 volt Three reference voltage sources 70.72. and 74 are respectively standard a ground 68 and voltage comparator 60.82. and each of the 64 inverting inputs. has been done.

Voltage comparator 80.82. The outputs of 1+, 80. and 82 inputs. These connections are made directly or three inverters 84.86. and 88. AN D gate 78.7g, 80. and 82 outputs are connected to four analog switches 90 ．． 92.94. and 9B control terminals, respectively. analog switch The signal terminals at 90.92.94° and 96 are connected to four potentiometers 9g, ! (10, 102° and 104 output terminals and common oscillator signal output conductor) It is interposed between the body 10B and the body 10B. Potentiometer 98.100.102° and All 104 input terminals are connected to a common oscillator signal input conductor tell. Ru.

The circuit disclosed in FIG. 3 functions as follows. The battery 24 is nominally 6 volts. If you have a terminal voltage that is the default, then the non-inverting inputs of all three voltage comparators will has a lower potential than its respective inverting input. Therefore, all three voltage comparisons The output of the device is placed in a logic low state. Under these conditions, AND gate 7 The three inputs of B are comparators 80.82. and 64 output and the input of AND gate 7B. An inverter 84.8B is interposed between the power and the power.

and 8B are placed logically high. The other three AND gates 7B, 80. and 82 each have at least one direct input and therefore the logic has at least one input that is placed in a low state. Therefore, the AND game only outputs 76 output a logical high state, causing their respective analog switches 90 to output a logic high state. Start. The other three AND gates 7g, 80. and 82 are respectively logical output a low state and thus their respective analog switches 92.94 ．． and inactivate 96. The analog switch 90 is activated and the other three In situations where the log switch is inactive, only potentiometer 98 oscillates. oscillator signal input conductor 108 and oscillator signal output conductor 106.

] For a nominal battery 24 voltage of 2 volts, the output of comparator 60 is logically at the high level. while the outputs of comparators 80 and 82 are both placed at a logic low level. It will be destroyed. Therefore, only AND gate 78 has all three of its inputs high; Thus, the analog switch 92 is activated. This allows the potentiometer For a battery 24 with a nominal voltage of 10,018 volts, comparators 60 and 62 both outputs a logically high level while comparator 64 still outputs a logically low level. Output. Therefore, only the output of AND gate 80 is placed at a logical high level. . Thus, only the analog switch 94 is activated, which causes the potentiometer to 102 is interposed between the oscillator signal input conductor 108 and the oscillator signal output conductor 106. Ru.

Finally, for a battery 24 with a nominal voltage of 24 volts, three comparators 60.62 ．． and 64 all output a logical high level. Therefore, the AND gate 82 All three inputs are placed at a logical high level. Obtained at the output of AND gate 82 A logically high level triggered triggers analog switch 96. As a result, the poten The oscillator 104 connects an oscillator signal input conductor 108 and an oscillator signal output conductor 106. intervene in between.

For each nominal battery voltage 6 volts + 12 volts, 1g volts or 24 volts It can be seen that one particular potentiometer is selected. Each potentiometer The attenuation provided by the battery changes the output reading of the battery test device to the battery under test. initially adjusted to match a specific nominal voltage of the battery. For example, load To obtain a qualitative evaluation of the test current or ampere-hours, or Get a qualitative rating for your battery, rated in amps or amp hours The potentiometer is initially set to provide an attenuation value that is inversely proportional to the nominal voltage. adjusted to. In order to obtain a qualitative evaluation of the available power in watts, To obtain a qualitative evaluation of the battery, which is rated in watts or watts, the potentiometer is The voltage is initially set to one level to provide an attenuation value that is inversely proportional to the square of the nominal voltage.

Although the above logic circuit is implemented with an AND gate, there are many different types that achieve the same result. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that circuits are possible. For example, NAND, NOR, or can use OR gates or their combinations to implement comparable logic. Ru. Further, similar to the circuit disclosed below, e.g. in FIG. If only the nominal battery voltage is identified, no logic gates need to be used at all .

Figure 4 shows the configuration to test either a 6 volt or 12 volt battery. Completed improved electronic battery test device with automatic voltage scaling This is a complete diagram. operational amplifier 110.112.114. and 118 are MSI direct It contains four elements of the angularly actuated amplifier integrated circuit ICI. bidirectional analog Switch 1.18.120.122. and 124 are right angle CMO5 bidirectional switches. The circuit includes four elements of an integrated circuit IC2. Voltage comparators 126 and 12 8 includes two elements of the MSI quadrature comparator integrated circuit IC3. three The integrated circuits ICI, IC2 and IC3 all have battery contacts 134 and 136. a common connection 130 to the battery 24 during testing conducted through each; 132.

The high gain amplifier cascade 12 of FIG. 2 includes a differential amplifier 110 and an emitter follower. It includes an npn) transistor 13g connected as a wire. The resistor 140 is , the voltage connected to the battery 24 through voltage detection contacts 1413 and 14g. The DC bias voltage from the divider resistors 142 and 144 is applied to the non-inverting amplifier +10. (+) Conductive to input. The output voltage of high gain amplifier cascade 12 is is established across the feedback resistor 22. Internal frame including resistors 150 and 152 The feedback path is between the emitter of npr+ transistor 138 and resistor 22. to the inverting (-) input of operational amplifier 110. . Resistors 150 and 152, along with capacitor 154, form low pass filter 18 in FIG. It consists of

The AC signal voltage generated across the battery 24 is transmitted through voltage detection contacts 14B and 14B. is sensed and added in series to the input signal voltage component established across visual resistor 156. It will be done. The resulting composite AC signal voltage includes capacitors 158 and 160. applied to the differential inputs of differential amplifier 110 by a capacitive coupling network. Ru.

A feedback current proportional to the voltage established across resistor 22 is a current feed. External feedback path conductor with back loop battery contacts 134 and 13B 162 and 164 to pass through the battery 24.

This AC input signal voltage established across optical resistor 156 is connected to differential amplifier 112, Precise level matching including analog switch 118 and Zener diode 166 generated by a tuned oscillator circuit. The operational amplifier 112 has a resistor 168.1 70, 172, 174, and capacitor 17B to generate a square wave synchronization signal. It constitutes a conventional stable multi-byte break circuit used for resistance 1 78 supplies a bias current to the Zener diode 16B.

The synchronized output signal of differential amplifier 112 is connected to a control input of analog switch 118. It continues. The signal terminal of the analog switch l18 is a Zener diode 166. is interconnected to the power of potentiometers 180 and 182. Poten A current proportional to the output voltage of the chometer 180 or potentiometer 1g2 is It passes through the injection resistor 184 and is injected into the optic resistor 15B, thereby increasing the optic resistor 156. Generates a signal voltage at both ends. Potentiometers 180 and 182 are connected to battery 2 4 has a nominal terminal voltage of 12 volts and it has a nominal terminal voltage of 6 volts. A square wave oscillator signal generated across the visual resistor 15B at each time when the provides an independent means for setting the level of

The outputs of potentiometers 180 and 182 are respectively connected to analog switch 122. and 124 signal terminals to the injection resistor 1g4. analog switch The control inputs of channels 122 and 124 are connected to the output terminals of voltage comparators 126 and 128. are connected to each other. The inputs of voltage comparators 126 and 128 are One of the voltage comparators outputs a theoretical high level when the other voltage comparator outputs a logical low level. and vice versa, so that they are connected in parallel. voltage comparison These inputs are connected to the inverting input of the voltage comparator 12B and the non-inverting input of the voltage comparator 128. A reference voltage is applied by connecting to Zener diode 18B. join Then, the terminal voltage of battery 24 is sensed through voltage divider resistors 186 and 188. and the divided battery voltage is applied to the non-inverting input of voltage comparator 126 and to the voltage comparator 126. 128 inverting inputs. The values of voltage divider resistors 18G and 188 are that The divided voltage established at the common connection between the terminals of battery 24 is approximately 9 volts, equal to the reference voltage established by the Zener diode 166. selected so that

Because of the circuit configuration just disclosed, a battery with a nominal terminal voltage of 12 volts 128. ” exceeds the voltage. Comparator 12B is therefore "on" and its output is pulled up. cap resistor 190, while comparator 128 has its output pulled low. It turns "off" when it is in the state. This turns analog switch +22 "on" , the analog switch 124 is "off" and the potentiometer Only 180 is interposed between the output of analog switch 11g and injection resistor 184.

On the other hand, the nominal 6 volt battery 24 voltage is the ``reference'' voltage of the ``sensed'' voltage. make it lower than Comparator 12g is therefore turned on and its output is at resistor 19 2 is pulled high while the output of comparator 126 is held low. a Analog switch 122 is therefore “off” and analog switch 24 is “off”. "on", thus only potentiometer 182 is connected to analog switch 1111. and the injection resistor 184.

Therefore, in order to implement proportional scaling, the two attenuators are yometer 182 is adjusted to provide twice the attenuation of attenuator 180. . To implement square scaling, the two attenuators are connected to potentiometers. 184 is adjusted to provide four times the attenuation of attenuator 184. 6 bol Batteries with nominal voltages other than 12 volts and 12 volts may be similarly regulated. can. Proportional scaling scales these potentiometers between these two voltages. results from adjusting the damping ratio equal to the ratio of . Square scaling can be applied to these It results from adjusting the potentiometer to a damping ratio equal to the square of this value.

The circuit embodiment disclosed in FIG. It can be seen that the shape wave oscillator output signal is automatically scaled. Furthermore, this is the third The desired selection of attenuation is made without the use of logic gates as disclosed in the illustrated circuit. child Other logic circuit means to achieve the same result will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Analog switch 120 is coupled with differential amplifier 114 connected as an integrator. Detector 40 shown in FIG. 2 is constructed. Resistor 194 and bypass capacitor 19 6 connects the non-inverting inputs of differential amplifiers 114 and 118 to the direct current generated across resistor 22. It constitutes a low-pass filter that biases up to the voltage level of the current bias component. .

The total voltage derived at the common connection between resistor 22 and transistor 138 is The signal current is passed through a resistor 19g and an analog switch 120 to a differential amplifier 114. It is sent to the 0 inverted input. This signal current is connected to the output of differential amplifier 112. The signal is periodically interrupted at the oscillator frequency by human control of the analog switch 120. Ru. Resistor 200 provides negative DC feedback to differential amplifier 114 . product capacitor 202 is connected to the sensed voltage signal output by differential amplifier 114. It works to smooth out the noise.

A current proportional to the detected signal voltage at the output of differential amplifier 114 is 5PDT. One of these two paths selected by switch 206 Ta! 04 to the output of operational amplifier 116. switch 206 is in position 1 In this condition, the meter current passes through the fixed resistor 208. under these conditions is proportional to the dynamic conductance of the battery 24. Direct reading battery test device with quantitative output configured in battery measurement units imitate. With switch 206 in position 2, the meter current flows across fixed resistor 2. 10 and variable resistor 212 . Under these conditions, the disclosed invention , manually adjusted battery rating scaling linearly related to the setting of variable resistor 212. and the evaluation offset determined by the value of the fixed resistor 210. Mimics a ``Pass-Fail'' battery test device.

Types and values of components of the improved electronic battery test device disclosed in FIG. The list is shown below.

110, 112.114.118 1 C1-LM324 N118, 12 0.122.124 I C2-CD4066B128, 128 1 C3-LM339 N1311 TI P31C power transistor 168 1 N 5231 B Zener diode resistance - ohms (I/4-W unless otherwise specified) 2222 ~ 5 watts 156, 210 10020B 470 212 500 variable 142, 144.178 　　　　　　　　　　　 Components Resistance - Ohm (1/4-V unless otherwise specified) 180, 182 10K trim pot 188 10 to 188 15 to 140, 200 47 to 19 (1 ,292,194,172 in 198100 1 in 150 74 150 to 270, 152.188. 170 1 mega capacitor-Mf’d 170 0.022154, 158.180 0.47 While specific modes for carrying out the invention have been described herein, Modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope and subject matter of this invention. You should understand that you can

For example, the battery under test may be measured in units different from those stated herein. can be evaluated. The scaling method thus implemented is described herein. It may differ from the proportional or square scaling methods described. Only one thing is required is the battery measurement unit provided to the user by the Direct Read Battery Tester Embodiment. password or manually entered by the user via a “pass-fail” implementation The dynamometer for a battery is generally what the specific nominal terminal voltage is. It is associated with mic conductance.

Furthermore, the number of different nominal voltages differentiated by the circuit as well as their specific The values are completely arbitrary and are not limited to the numbers and voltage values mentioned herein. Canada In particular, the amplifier difference between the oscillator and the readout device, as well as the selectable attenuator, So a person can go to any point. The invention is therefore disclosed herein. is not limited to a selectable attenuator placed at the oscillator output as do not have. Other equivalents for selectively scaling the output instructions provided to the user More effective means will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Furthermore, the means for providing the output display to the user may be as disclosed herein. There is no need to simply use a straight a minoammeter. For direct reading battery testers, The required numeric display can be provided by a digital meter, numeric printer, or computer terminal equipment. This can also be done by placing the Required for “Pass-Fail” battery tester Qualitative displays can also be provided by multiple light emitting diodes, colored lights, or even audible displays. It can be carried out. Other equally effective means of implementing output display will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It will be obvious for.

It is believed that these and other modified embodiments are well within the scope of the invention and are appended hereto. It is intended to be covered by the claims appended hereto.

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Claims (23)

[Claims] 1. Testing a DC energy source with dynamic conductance and nominal voltage In an electronic device for: a. a hand operably connected to said energy source; a stage for providing a signal proportional to said dynamic conductance. means, b. means operably connected to said energy source for identifying said nominal voltage; means to c. attenuator means responsive to said identified nominal voltage, said attenuator means configured to schedule said signal; attenuator means for ringing; and d. to the level of the scaled signal above. Means for displaying numerical quantities in response An electronic device comprising: 2. characterized in that said numerical quantity is proportional to the level of said scaled signal. 2. The device of claim 1. 3. Said attenuator means scales said signal proportionally to said identified nominal voltage. 3. A device according to claim 2, characterized in that: 4. Said attenuator means scale said signal proportionally to the square of said identified nominal voltage. 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that it scales. 5. Direct current energy with dynamic conductance, nominal voltage, and electrical rating In electronic devices for testing energy sources, a. means operably connected to said energy source, said dynamic controller; means for providing a signal proportional to the inductance; b. means for manually adjusting the level of said signal according to said electrical rating; c. means operably connected to said energy source for identifying said nominal voltage; means to d. attenuator means responsive to said identified nominal voltage, said attenuator means configured to schedule said signal; attenuator means for controlling; and e. responds to the level of the scaled signal above characterized in that it includes means for displaying a qualitative evaluation of said energy source. electronic device. 6. Said attenuator means scales said signal proportionally to said identified nominal voltage. 6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that the device 7. Said attenuator means scale said signal proportionally to the square of said identified nominal voltage. 6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that it scales. 8. A system for displaying the evaluation of DC power supplies with internal resistance and terminal voltage. Leave it behind. time-varying voltage source, time-varying current generating means operably connected to both said voltage source and said power supply; to generate an output signal proportional to the time-varying voltage source and inversely proportional to the internal resistance. A time-varying current generating means is interposed between the time-varying voltage source and the output of the current generating means. selectable attenuator means, voltage sensing means operably connected to both said power supply and said selectable attenuator means; and voltage sensing means for selecting an attenuation value in response to the terminal voltage of the power supply. , and for detecting the output signal of the current generating means and displaying in response thereto. means to A system comprising: 9. The above evaluation includes a quantitative evaluation and the above display includes a numerical display. 9. The system according to claim 8. 10. The above evaluation includes a quantitative evaluation and the above indication meets at least two qualitative criteria. 9. The system of claim 8, further comprising: displaying a message. 11. The voltage sensing means detects at least one voltage derived from the terminal voltage. of multiple possible values fixed by a process that involves comparing with a reference voltage of 9. The system of claim 8, further comprising identifying a particular nominal voltage among the voltages. 12. characterized in that the above selected attenuation value is inversely proportional to the specified nominal voltage above 12. The system according to claim 11. 13. The above selected attenuation value is inversely proportional to the square of the specified nominal voltage. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that: 14. For testing batteries with dynamic conductance and nominal voltage. In this method, a. measuring the dynamic conductance of the battery; b. battery public determining the nominal voltage; c. The above measured dynamic conductance is automatically scaling according to the nominal voltage of the battery; d. scale above The method includes the step of displaying the obtained results. 15. the battery has an electrical rating and the method Manually scaling the conductance according to the above electrical ratings 15. The method of claim 14, comprising: 16. The above step of automatically scaling the measured dynamic coefficients above. Automatically scales the inductance proportional to the battery's nominal voltage. 15. The method of claim 14, comprising: 17. The above step of automatically scaling the measured dynamic coefficients above. Automatically scales inductance proportional to the square of the battery's nominal voltage 15. The method of claim 14, comprising: 18. A direct circuit that has an internal resistance and a terminal voltage that has one of two possible nominal voltages. A time-varying voltage source that generates an input signal in an electronic device for testing current power sources. , time-varying current generating means operably connected to both said voltage source and said power source; , a time-varying output signal that produces an output signal that is proportional to the input signal and inversely proportional to the internal resistance. Current generating means, compares the voltage derived from the above terminal voltage with the reference voltage and inputs the above. The power signal is input above by one of two attenuation values depending on which voltage is higher. means for attenuating the signal; means responsive to said output signal; An electronic device characterized in that it includes means for generating. 19. 19. The electronic device according to claim 18, wherein the output display includes a numerical display. device. 20. 19. The output display includes a qualitative condition display. electronic devices. 21. said power supply has an electrical rating and said device has a level of said output signal. A claim characterized in that it includes means for manual adjustment according to said electrical rating. Item 20. Electronic device according to item 20. 22. The ratio of the above two attenuation values is the inverse ratio of the above two nominal terminal voltage values. 19. The electronic device of claim 18. 23. The ratio of the above two attenuation values is the square of the inverse ratio of the above two nominal terminal voltage values. 19. The electronic device according to claim 18.